Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessObtain low-privileged authenticated access
-
DeliveryReach Connected User Experiences and Telemetry service
-
ExploitSend crafted request overflowing heap buffer
-
ExecutionCorrupt heap metadata to hijack control
-
PersistExecute code as SYSTEM
-
ImpactFull host compromise
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires an authenticated low-privileged principal (PR:L) able to reach the Windows Connected User Experiences and Telemetry (DiagTrack) service over a network path (AV:N); no user interaction is needed (UI:N) and attack complexity is low (AC:L). It affects default installations of the listed Windows 10 (1809/21H2/22H2), Windows 11 (23H2/24H2/25H2/26H1), and Windows Server 2019/2022/2025 builds below the fixed versions (e.g., Windows Server 2025 <10.0.26100.33438, Windows 11 24H2 <10.0.26100.9445). The main limiting factor is the authentication requirement - an attacker must already possess valid credentials/a foothold - and the target must be running an unpatched build; there is no known automatable or unauthenticated path. |
| Impact | The vendor CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 8.8) describes a low-complexity, low-privilege, network-reachable elevation of privilege with total impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. That severity is tempered by every exploitation-likelihood signal: EPSS is only 0.74% (52nd percentile), CISA SSVC records Exploitation=none and Automatable=no (with Technical Impact=total), there is no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit was identified. So this is a genuinely serious flaw by impact but not currently an emergency by exploitation evidence - no public exploit identified at time of analysis. One tension worth flagging: the description calls this an elevation-of-privilege bug yet the vector is AV:N (network) with PR:L, which is unusual for a local EoP; Microsoft classifies DiagTrack (Connected User Experiences and Telemetry) issues this way because the vulnerable code path is reachable over a network channel by an already-authenticated principal, but defenders should treat the exact reachability surface as vendor-defined rather than assume classic remote pre-auth exploitation. Given the ubiquity of Windows, this should be patched on the normal-to-prioritized Patch Tuesday cadence even though live exploitation is not yet observed. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with a low-privileged authenticated foothold on a Windows host (or an adjacent authenticated network position that can reach the Connected User Experiences and Telemetry/DiagTrack service) sends a crafted request that overflows a heap buffer in the service. Because the service runs with high privilege, successful corruption of heap structures lets the attacker execute code in a SYSTEM-level context, elevating from a standard user to full control. No public proof-of-concept exploit is currently identified, and SSVC rates the flaw as not automatable. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Sep 21, 2026
Elevation of privilege in Windows DiagTrack (Connected User Experiences and Telemetry) allows an authenticated low-privileged attacker with network access to trigger a heap-based buffer overflow and potentially gain elevated privileges, including SYSTEM-level access. The vulnerability affects default installations of Windows 10 (1809, 21H2, 22H2), Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1), and Windows Server 2019/2022/2025 builds below the fixed versions. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; EPSS is 0.74% (52nd percentile) and CISA SSVC reports exploitation: none. Vendor patches are available.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Heap-based buffer overflow in the Windows Connected User Experiences and Telemetry service (DiagTrack) enables low-privileged authenticated attackers to escalate privileges to SYSTEM-level over the network. Affecting Windows 10 (1809 through 22H2), Windows 11 (23H2 through 26H1), and Windows Server 2019 through 2025, the flaw carries a CVSS 8.0 rating with full CIA impact upon successful exploitation. No public exploit or active exploitation (CISA KEV) has been identified at time of analysis; Microsoft has released patches for all affected builds.
RemediationAI
Microsoft has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Apply the latest cumulative updates for affected Windows versions: for Windows 10 1809, install build 10.0.17763.9245 or later; Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2, build 10.0.19044.7725 or 10.0.19045.7725 or later; Windows 11 23H2, build 10.0.22631.7582 or later; Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, build 10.0.26100.9445 or 10.0.26200.9445 or later; Windows 11 26H1, build 10.0.28000.2954 or later; Windows Server 2019, build 10.0.17763.9245 or later; Windows Server 2022, build 10.0.20348.5622 or later; Windows Server 2025, build 10.0.26100.33438 or later. Refer to the Microsoft Security Response Center advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69625 for detailed guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling the DiagTrack service (Connected User Experiences and Telemetry) on systems that do not require telemetry, but note that this may impact diagnostic data collection and some Windows features. Additionally, restrict network access to the DiagTrack service (usually RPC over TCP port 135 and dynamic ports) to trusted hosts only, as the attack vector is network-based and requires authentication. However, these workarounds may not fully mitigate the vulnerability and should be applied with caution.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 12 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerability is a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in the Windows Connected User Experiences and Telemetry service, also known as DiagTrack. DiagTrack is a Windows service that collects and transmits diagnostic and telemetry data. The overflow occurs due to improper bounds checking when processing network requests, allowing an attacker to write beyond the allocated heap buffer. This can lead to memory corruption and, in the context of this service running with SYSTEM privileges, elevation of privilege. The CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H indicates the attack is network-reachable, low complexity, requires low privileges, no user interaction, and results in total loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The CPE strings identify affected operating systems: Windows 10 versions 1809, 21H2, 22H2 (x64, x86, arm64); Windows 11 versions 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1 (arm64, x64); and Windows Server 2019, 2022, 2025. The flaw is within the DiagTrack service, so any system with the service enabled and unpatched is potentially vulnerable.
Know when Windows 10 1809 gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Concur with vendor: authenticated (PR:L) low-complexity network-reachable heap overflow in a high-privilege service yielding full code execution, so C:H/I:H/A:H, scope unchanged.
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionNVD
Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Connected User Experiences and Telemetry allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
Executive ViewAI
Default installations of Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server (2019/2022/2025) are affected by CVE-2026-69625, a high-severity elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in DiagTrack that could let a low-privileged network attacker gain SYSTEM-level control. No public exploit identified at time of analysis. Unpatched systems represent a material internal threat vector that could enable lateral movement and full compromise, so security leadership should prioritize patching to protect critical business systems and maintain regulatory compliance.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.
More in Windows 10 1809
View allWindows MSHTML component contains a remote code execution vulnerability that allows attackers to craft malicious ActiveX
<p>A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Windows Print Spooler service improperly performs privileged fi
Windows MSDT (Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool) allows remote code execution when called via the ms-msdt URL protocol f
Windows Win32k contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability enabling local privilege escalation to SYSTEM, exploited by
Windows Print Spooler Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no auth
Windows contains an elevation of privilege vulnerability known as 'HiveNightmare' or 'SeriousSAM' where overly permissiv
Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely explo
Internet Shortcut Files Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is rem
Denial of service against HTTP/2 server implementations allows remote unauthenticated attackers to exhaust server resour
Windows Kernel contains a TOCTOU race condition vulnerability allowing local privilege escalation, exploited by the OilR
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows when the Win32k component fails to properly handle objects in
Windows Internet Shortcut Files (.url) contain an external control vulnerability (CVE-2025-33053, CVSS 8.8) that enables
EUVD-2026-73550
GHSA-rw96-frpx-72q6
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB